Morristown, N.J.- The College of Saint Elizabeth's basketball team won a dramatic home opener, defeating Purchase College 78-76 in overtime.

The Eagles started the game quickly when Ashley Pledger nailed a 3 pointer to give the Eagles a 6-2 lead. Pledger would up the lead to 8 when she came up with a nice steal and finished with a fast break layup. Purchase would manage to keep the game within 6 before CSE went on an 8-0 run to open up a 28-16 lead. Sharolin Sanders would add 2 late free throws with a second remaining to give the Eagles a 32-21 lead going into halftime.

Amerisse Rogers nailed a 3 to start the second half, giving the Eagles a 15 point lead. Purchase College would hang tough, cutting the lead to 7 with 15 minutes remaining. With 11 minutes remaining, Sanders hit a jumper from the top of the key to reopen a double-digit lead. Purchase kept hanging around, getting to within 5 with 7:30 remaining. Despite Purchase cutting the lead to as little as 2, Pledger sparked a 6-0 run to open up a 61-53 lead with 4 minutes remaining. Purchase would rally back however, making a layup with 2 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime tied at 68.

In overtime, the Eagles took a 2 point lead after Pledger's layup. Purchase would tie the score up at 74 with 40 seconds remaining. Purchase connected on 2 free throws with 17 seconds remaining. Following a timeout, Pledger made a breakaway layup off a beautiful pass from Alivia Roseboro. Off the following inbounds, Roseboro stole the pass, dished it to Pledger who made the game winning layup with 7 seconds remaining to give the Eagles a 78-76 victory.

Ashley Pledger scored a season high 28 points and 9 rebounds. Sharolin Sanders added 17 points while Alivia Roseboro had 10 assists.

The Eagles return to action on Sunday when they host Old Westbury at 1 pm.